Do you keep a stash of cash?

[jmjj215]

With these natural disasters and things happening recently, it's got me thinking it might be wise for my family to have a bit of emergency money in cash instead of sitting with ING.

I just need to decide on a reasonable amount, and where to put it.

Does anyone else do this for the same reason?

[CRFSaver]

I always keep either 100 or 200 bucks around just in case. This came in hand when I was living in Chicago and was mugged. Since I had no ATm Card, VISA, AMex and no cash and no ID, I was able to get by for the week it took me to get a card. Of course having a family is a different story. You might even want to consider travelers checks in case they get stolen.

[34saving]

I always have some cash on hand. Usually about $50 with me and another $200 or so at home. As for where to put it . . . there are lots of good places in your house. Just be creative

[TBH]

I don't keep much cash, and have always teased my spouse for being old fashioned because he likes to have $60-80 in the house and $40-50 on him. Now I'm rethinking.

Also, on a similar note, my spouse freaks out if the gas tank gets below a quarter full. When it dips below the halfway point, he always exclaims, "oh, we need gas as soon as possible". I don't like to let the yellow light go on, but I usually fill up right before that point. Now, after hearing the horror stories about people unable to evacuate doomed cities because they didn't have enough gas, I'm thinking it's better to keep the tank pretty full. A half talk could probably get me well out of the metro area, and if there wasn't much traffic could get me to my sister's house 2 hours away (the obvious evacuation site for us).

Anybody else fretting about gas accessibility in a disaster?

[jmjj215]

I just couldn't believe they had people running out of gas b/c the traffic was so slow they would idle it all away (literally).

[Fern]

I might be carrying as much as $400 with me at any given time because i like to avoid fees from using ATM too much so when i need to make a cash withdrawl, i take out the maximum...$400. It goes quickly, what with groceries and gas...

But no hidden stash at home

[meaghanchan]

I've never kept a stash of cash- when I did in the past, I misplaced it a lot- but I am rethinking that. Probably $100. I think that'd be enough for me to get by for a while in case of some kind of natural disaster. Maybe $200- that'd let me buy a train ticket to my parents' house. If I needed to go further than that (it's about 800 miles away) I'd really be in trouble.

[34saving]

Between our two cars I try to have at least 3/4 of a tank. (Figure we can siphon from one to the other before we leave if we get really desparate.) I don't like to have less than 1/2 of a tank in the winter. You never know when you're going to get stuck, be it in traffic or otherwise.

[tamip]

I usually have at least $100 on me, and right after payday it's more like $500. I also feel better when I have cash stashed at home, which is usually around $100. I'm thinking of keeping more than that now though, more in the $500 range would be good.

In light of recent events, we also don't let our tanks dip below half. And, we're in the process of having emergency kits ready for the home and the cars. Hubby and I now feel strongly that we should be able to be self sufficient for at least 3 days.

[baselle]

Originally Posted by jmjj215

I just couldn't believe they had people running out of gas b/c the traffic was so slow they would idle it all away (literally).

I thought about that. Air conditioning. It was outside of Houston on top of aspault, bumper to bumper.

What got me was everybody using the interstate. Whatever happened to local surface streets? When I used to drive, my driving style was shark style. Always keep moving even if it was thirty five on a local street.

[cercis]

Baselle, they were told not to use surface streets. Actually, they were ordered not to use surface streets and barricades were placed on some exits. But my friend that ignored the orders managed to get to Dallas in "only" 24 hours. Which was much better than the 36 hours it took my other friend to get to Austin (which is closer).

There was an issue with cash and gas, though. Many of the gas stations stayed open but were pay at the pump only. People who had cash had to rely on strangers to allow them to put the gas on their card and then pay them with cash.

I live in an area that could be hit by a hurricane (there for a while there was an even chance Rita would hit us). Our plan is to have cash, cc's with $10k limit and full tanks of gas. I filled up Wednesday for Rita, just in case.

[PrincessPerky]

I don't tend to have cash around, cause we don't tend to see cash. Auto deposit and use a Check card for purchases, but I am rethinking that now.

[Snoopy2645]

No I dont keep any cash on me at all anymore at any given time I have usually less than $20 also reconsidering this!!

[Bruce Wayne]

Its a reasonable idea to have a bit of cash around but don't forget that in any emergency its likely to produce quite rapid inflation so your cash might not go very far, although that depends on the magnitude of the emergency I guess

Overall though I tend to keep a few hundred pounds about the house (hopefully there aren't any robbers reading this thread )

[jmjj215]

So the important thing is a bit of cash. More important though is resources: gasoline, electricity (generator), and food possibly.

I echo the comment made above. I think first and foremost you should have the goal of being able to sustain yourself and immediate familiy for a reasonable amount of time (1-2 weeks?) w/o depending on anyone else for help (read: food, mainly). New Orleans taught me that one lesson in many stark ways on the evening news.

[Bluezy]

Two words....Travelers Cheques!!!!

I keep a secret disaster stash in travelers cheques in my secret location. If lost, stolen or destroyed they can be replaced. They can be purchased for free from AAA Motor Club. The amount I have put away for CJ and I is $500. That is enough to get us petrol and a place to stay for a short time.

[cercis]

I didn't realize travelers cheques didn't have an expiration date. I've only used them once and found them a pain (but I was a teenager and was visiting an extremely rural area).

C

[locolorenzo24]

Well, I always have my envelopes at home, and gas cash in the glovebox, but figure that if something happens, I'm raiding all the bill money. Screw paying the phone bill, if the reactor blows up, I don't really have much use for coming back anytime soon....plus my emergency cash is one of the envelopes...

[jmjj215]

I've always hesitated putting envelope (gas) money in the glove box (or jockey box, for Bruce ), b/c I figured if my car would get stolen, that money'd be gone too. And $100 is still $100.

[Roger]

This is a very interesting topic, one I feel strongly about. A short answer is yes, I keep cash. My wife and I use cash for many of our ordinary, everyday expenses like grocieries, fuel, fun money, eating out, clothing, etc. Then when the money is gone, we quit spending.
As for emergancy cash, we have upwards of $1000 hidden in a couple different places. Be creative someone said and that's what it takes. The freezer is a good place because it is fire and water resistant, though burglars know that trick. Inside a book on your shelf, taped to the bottom of a drawer (the underneath) is also good.
If you are worried about a great and calamitous event disrupting the national economy and sending inflation out of sight making your paper money worthless, it can give you peace of mind to have several small coins of pure gold and silver hidden where you can get at them easily. History has shown that when paper money is worthless, merchants will always trade you necessities for metals.
Just my thoughts,
Roger